I’ve talked about quinoa numerous times, and always recommend it to clients who are looking for tasty ways to incorporate whole grains into their diet. Quinoa is a wonderful high protein grain and it tastes great with almost anything.

This recipe is so easy to put together once the initial step of baking the pumpkin and cubing it is over. I made this after my little sister came home from a field trip at the apple orchid. Pumpkin is very high in Vitamin A, and is a nutrient dense food. It carries anti-cancerous properties, potassium, and yes, Vitamin C too. Don’t hesitate; get pumpkin on your plate.

I usually like this dish with parsley, but I was making the pesto full zucchini noodlesthat day and had a bunch of fresh dill on hand. It gave it an interesting flavorful kick.

Pasta is a traditional food for many, but with modern allergies, it’s not friendly for everyone. I’ve come upon Jovial Foods long ago, and until now, it’s one of the top brands of pasta in my opinion. I recommend my clients choose this pasta over others not only because it’s organic, or allergy friendly, but because of the numerous benefits that come with Einkorn wheat.

Their Wheat Pastas are 100% Einkorn, which is the traditional wheat not hybridized like modern wheat. It contains lots of protein, dietary fiber, B Vitamins, minerals, and must say, is wonderful for those with gluten sensitivity.

They also have a line of gluten-free products, one of the few companies to make pasta gluten-free without adding unnecessary preservatives and fillers.

I absolutely love pesto, and I make my pesto dressing without the nuts and cheese for a twist. I add other greens and herbs for a tasty spike in taste and health. This pesto is full of super-foods, anti-inflammatory benefits, Vitamin K, A, C, and traces of beneficial minerals from the unrefined pink salt.

They say “eat the rainbow,” and we (Holistic Health Coaches) say “eat THE rainbow,” but mean an incredibly different rainbow. 🙂

Noor’s Rainbow Mango Salad

So, here I introduce my rainbow salad. It’s full of health benefits A to Z.

Mangos are not only a tasty fruit, they have remarkable benefits. Among them are Vitamin C, Vitamin A, folate and B Vitamins. Mangos are great for healthy skin, bone health, has cancer preventative benefits, beta-carotene, and dietary fiber- which aids in digestion and heart health. What more can you want from something that tastes so sweet and luscious?

Mangos are on the clean 15 list, meaning they are low in pesticides. This means you don’t need to worry about buying organic mangos. Just make sure you let them ripen so they can be wholly sweet.

I can go on and on about the benefits of the organic bell peppers, the organic parsley, tomato, organic greens, blueberries (in the homemade dressing I made) cucumbers, avocadoes and mushrooms.

This is like an anti-cancer, high healthy fat, high fiber, Vitamin A, K, C, B and flavonoids super salad. It’s high in photochemical and good for you antioxidants. The raw walnuts I toss on top not only add flavor and a crunch. They give the salad a boost of omega-3 fatty acids which we all need to get from food.

Now you tell me, would you rather eat my rainbow, or the popularly advertised candy “the rainbow”?

Ingredients:

4 cups organic greens

2 cucumbers

1 organic yellow bell pepper

1 organic orange bell pepper

1 medium tomato

1 bunch organic parsley

2 organic avocadoes, ripen

8 small white button mushrooms

Raw walnuts for topping

My homemade clean-eat blueberry dressing

Directions:

Place the organic greens in a serving bowl.

Wash and cut the bell peppers into small cubes. Place color coded atop the greens.

Wash and peel the cucumbers. Cut slices and place next to the peppers, atop the greens.

Wash and chop the tomato and place it in the middle of the plate, atop the greens.

Chop the parsley and place it atop the tomatoes.

Pit and cut the avocadoes into cubes and place atop the greens, near the peppers.

Wash and sliced the mushroom and place atop the greens. You get the picture now. 🙂

Fun Fact: There are over 400 varieties of sweet potatoes around the globe!

Did you ever hear someone tell you not to eat sweet potatoes because they’re not the best for your health? Well, I’m here to confirm that sweet potatoes are more than just orange potatoes, much sweeter than the famous original potato.

Sweet potatoes have extremely amazing benefits, including a very high amount of Vitamin A, antioxidants, dietary fiber, over four B vitamins, Vitamin C, copper, biotin, potassium, and manganese. Sweet potatoes have anti-inflammatory benefits and wonderful blood sugar regulation. Point being, atto your sweet potatoes! The benefits of this tasty root vegetable amaze me, and I enjoy them even more.

So how should you eat sweet potatoes? First, I’ll tell you how not to eat them. Buying frozen sweet potato fries in the grocery aisle is not the best choice. Not only are those sweet potatoes highly processed, most of them are pre-“cooked”, meaning pre-flash fried. On top of that, they are full of unnecessary preservatives and chemicals. So in regards to these potatoes, forget about the majority of the benefits I mentioned above.

As for getting the maximum benefits from this super food, I enjoy making it in numerous ways.

The easiest and fastest way is to simply wash the potatoes real well, cut through all around it with a knife, and bake in the oven. About 45 minutes later, you have a steamed delicious and sweet side dish, or even dessert. That’s seen in the image above.

These are my spiced sweet potato fries (baked). I use organic virgin coconut oil not only because it’s full of numerous health benefits, but it’s also one of the best oils to cook with in terms of the smoke point. Many oils are extremely sensitive and lose the majority of their benefits when you cook or bake with them. That includes Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Sesame-Seed Oil, nut oils, etc. I buy my organic virgin coconut oilonline.

Did you ever try raw milk? Well if not, let me explain. Raw milk is unheated, unpasteurized, unprocessed milk. It contains live probiotics, and since it’s not pasteurized the enzymes that help you digest lactose are not killed- it’s easy to digest even for those that are lactose intolerant! I don’t drink conventional milk, so it was a definite treat to drink this raw milk, especially knowing the numerous benefits it has.

So while I was in Turkey this past summer visiting my sister, I put together this raw milk potassium smoothie. The raw milk provides live enzymes and plenty of probiotics. Tossing in the banana doesn’t only provide potassium, but also fiber to aid in digestion. Bananas are high in Vitamin B6, manganese, and surprising to some, has Vitamin C. I must mention I try to always use bananas that a ripen, with brown spots on it .Believe it or not but it will have more benefits for you. Plenty of digestive, cardiovascular, and athletic performance benefits come from bananas too. Need to say more? I didn’t think so.

The honey is more than just a natural sweetener; it has numerous benefits including antimicrobial and antioxidant benefits, along with the wonderful phytonutrients. We only buy unheated and unpasteurized raw honey. Check these raw honey options out.

So, what’s not good about this smoothie? It tastes amazing, makes a perfect dessert, and has mind-blowing benefits.

This smoothie contains pain relief benefits, without the negative side-effects.

Did you ever imagine kale or spinach in your dessert? Well, I’m here to make it happen without making you plug your nose drinking it.

When you’re craving that sweet treat or need some energy early in the morning, this recipe is the perfect drink.

You can put less liquid and call it ice cream, or you can add a bit of liquid to make it a drinkable smoothie. That’s up to you my friend.

Now, let’s get to it.

I developed this new habit of becoming extremely sneaky with greens, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, and other health foods. I throw them in drinks, desserts, and dinner entrees without others knowing. 😛

As for this smoothie, it’s full of super-foods, and therefore is high in Vitamin K, Vitamin C, potassium, dietary fiber, antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids, anti-inflammatory benefits, flavonoids, muscle recovering anthocyanins, and more.

What am I talking about? Well, one of the secrets here is the Organic Tart Cherry Concentrate, considered a super-food. It’s full anti-cancer mechanisms, has anti-inflammatory benefits, cardiovascular benefits, joint pain relief, and the potent flavonoid, anthocyanins, which are known to not only reduce stress and inflammation, but also do a lot with aiding your muscles in repairing. So this smoothie/treat would be perfect after a workout. Get on it.

The banana is not only there to cover up the vegetables, it also aids in muscle recovery, aids in constipation, lightens your mood, and actually stimulates growth of bacteria (the good kind!) in your gut.

The flaxseed? Where do I begin? If I were to recommend one new habit everyday it would be to add flaxseed to your routine. 1-2 tablespoons a day is great. They are high in insoluble and soluble fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, and have anti-inflammatory benefits. Make sure to buy whole flaxseeds (unless your pre-ground is cold-milled) so you don’t eat them without the benefits. Grind them in a spice grinder and top them on your smoothies, avocadoes, soups, or salads.

At this point you’re convinced enough, that you’re reading this while blending up this recipe. 😛

After a long break away, I’m back. I was in an intense program getting certified as an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach.

A few people asked how I made the noodles on my website’s homepage (www.holisticnoortrition.com). It’s extremely delicious, and worth every bite. You don’t have to garnish it and fancy it up- just eat the noodles.

Garnish with lemons, fresh dill, parsley, and red peppers.

No, this is not squash spaghetti, although that is good too. These noodles are made of zucchini, yes, I know it’s a surprise to some. I used a Spiralizer tool, which is real cheap, easy to use, and has amazing results.

The recipe happens to be gluten free, dairy free, sugar free, soy free, chemicals and preservative free. I toss in a bunch of super foods into my ninja single, and get an amazing, creamy pesto sauce (without cheese).

This pesto is full of super-foods, anti-inflammatory benefits, Vitamin K, A, C, and traces of beneficial minerals from the unrefined salt.

The only salt I use in my kitchen is Himalayan Pink Salt or unrefined real salt. Why? Well, not only are they pure forms of salt, but that pink hue is the indication of the minerals and iron content! So when I include salt in food, I’m not talking about sodium you’d find on the back of your chips package, or the white shiny salt you buy for less than a dollar, which happen to be stripped of all the nutrients and minerals. Did you know that unrefined salt, pink or grayish in color, contain over 60 traces of essential mineral? Well, now you know. While the Himalayan Pink Salt has over 80 trace minerals, and is the purest form of salt, the unrefined celtic salt (like RealSalt) is just as great and gives your meals the same taste, but with added benefits.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil tops it off with good for your fats, anti-cancer benefits, and key polyphenols for optimum health. Just make sure your Extra Virgin Olive Oil is actually cold pressed, for this stage is very essential in preserving all the wonderful benefits.

You can even make the zucchini noodles without my pesto sauce. Try a tomato base sauce or simply drizzle it with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, lemon, and seasoning.

I walked down to the kitchen yesterday and was a bit too late- my mom prepared a gluten-free loaf of oregano bread. It was sitting in the plate for 30 minutes to rise, so I had time to get her exact recipe and write it down.

I walked down and found this loaf waiting to rise.

Oregano, known as za’tar, is a very healthy herb. It’s full of Vitamin K, iron, fiber, and even calcium. It’s usually eaten dipped with Olive Oil and bread, and this bun recipe put a twist on the traditional. Thanks mom. :))

This week for my health advice column in the newspaper, someone asked whether 35 calorie toast was a good idea. I emphasized on the misconception of calories in this country, and how people are so desperately trying to eat “low-fat,” sugar-free,” and “low-calorie” foods- parallel to the obesity epidemic we see.

Food is meant to give us energy, and calories are energy. If we are trying to replace these calories with scientific lab made chemicals in order to make them low-calorie, fat-free, and sugar-free, while retaining their flavor, texture, and not to mention shelf-life, then we have a problem. Not only are these chemicals and preservatives unnatural, some are very hazardous to our health. Bread is meant to be made of a few ingredients, water, flour, yeast, salt, and sometimes milk. The addition of 30 preservatives and unpronounceable chemicals is unnecessary. Obviously, corporations are not looking to feed us well, not if it means a tighter wallet for them. Don’t be fooled by a bag of bread advertising itself to you.

At the end of the day, there’s nothing like the smell of fresh baked bread in the house. So these buns could be made with gluten-free all purpose flour, or organic unbleached flour. If you plan to use whole wheat flour instead, be wary that it may change the texture of the dough.

The seed toppings, chia, flax, sesame, and black seed all have numerous health benefits I can write a book about. I believe every kitchen should have those on hand- including yours. If you don’t already use these superfoods, I included links below.

This country lives on potato chips. Not only are they deep fried in hydrogenated oils, they are coated in sodium, unfriendly chemicals, and tons of preservatives. Basically we begin with a potato, and end with a potato stripped of its nutrients. Now potatoes are not bad for you at all, but it’s the way it’s cooked and prepared nowadays that makes it bad for you. Potatoes are high in potassium, Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, and plays role in cell building.

Kale is a super green. It’s full of Vitamin K, Vitamin A, manganese, fiber, yes Vitamin C, and over a dozen other nutrients. What’s not to like about this chip? I top it with nutritious spices and organic coconut oil, one of the best oils to cook with.

This recipe is so quick you could make it faster than running out to the supermarket at midnight when you’re craving a crunchy and salty snack. =)

This recipe is gluten, dairy, soy, wheat, egg,, and chemical free. What’s not to like about this chip?

Ingredients:

A bunch of fresh organic kale (fresh from the Farmer’s Market is best :))